Rise of the Tomb Raider won’t be available on either PS4 or PC, following Microsoft’s deal to sign the game exclusively for Xbox One.
Following a bad reaction from PlayStation and PC users on the Crystal Dynamics forums, head of studio Darrell Gallagher has explained what he presents as the motivation behind the news.
“We consider all of you to be the lifeblood of Tomb Raider and the work we do at Crystal,” he said. “I’d like to give you some insight into this decision, and why we feel this is the very best thing for the Tomb Raider sequel we’re creating at the studio.
“Tomb Raider in 2013 was a success due in large part to your continued support. Our goal has always been to deliver something truly special with Rise of the Tomb Raider. Today’s announcement with Microsoft is one step to help us put Tomb Raider on top of action adventure gaming.
“Our friends at Microsoft have always seen huge potential in Tomb Raider and have believed in our vision since our first unveil with them on their stage at E3 2011. We know they will get behind this game more than any support we have had from them in the past – we believe this will be a step to really forging the Tomb Raider brand as one of the biggest in gaming, with the help, belief and backing of a major partner like Microsoft.”
Gallagher goes on to say that the team is working to make this the biggest and most ambitious Tomb Raider to date.
Capcom today announced Resident Evil for PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC.
The hugely popular Resident Evil series, having sold over 61 million units to date, returns to its roots with a remastered version of the critically acclaimed masterpiece, Resident Evil. Originally released in 1996, Resident Evil was then “remade” in 2002 from the ground up with new visuals, gameplay elements, environments and story details while retaining the survival horror atmosphere the series had become synonymous for. Both fans of the franchise who want a trip down memory lane and those who have yet to experience the game that coined the term survival horror for the gaming world will appreciate this definitive re-visit of that iconic 2002 Resident Evil title.
Using the latest resolution enhancement and 3D model technology, game resolutions and textures have been significantly upgraded, including 1080p support on next-gen consoles, resulting in characters and backgrounds coming to life in greater detail than ever seen before in Resident Evil. Not only will the graphics impress but the tense sound effects have been fully remastered with 5.1 surround support for a greater gaming atmosphere. Players are now able to choose not only between experiencing the terror at the classic 4:3 ratio or a stunning 16:9 widescreen mode but also the type of control scheme they play with. The classic control scheme remains for fans of the original play style or there’s an alternative scheme where the character moves directly in the direction of the analogue stick, utilizing the standards of the current generation of gaming. Both the control scheme and the display options can be toggled between at any time during gameplay.
The intense horror fans first experienced with the release of the original Resident Evil is back. Taking place in the now notorious Raccoon City, players will choose to take on the role of either S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) team member Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, who have been sent into the city to find the missing Bravo team. When the team is suddenly attacked by a ferocious group of mutated dogs, desperate for an escape they take shelter in the Mansion, but will they ever get out alive again? Players will need to be brave as they adventure through the dark, enclosed spaces searching out the horrors that await them. With limited ammo and survival items available gamers will need to keep their wits about them to survive the various traps and puzzles that greet them at every stage.
Resident Evil will be available to purchase digitally across North America and Europe in Early 2015.
Activision Publishing, Inc. and Bungie, today confirmed millions of people have played their upcoming and award-winning game Destiny during their beta test to gather vital information in preparation for launch.
The Destiny Beta included a sampling of major activities featured in the full game. The beta began first on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 on July 17 and came to a close Sunday evening, with 4,638,937 unique players participating.
“This is the biggest beta of this console generation by a wide margin and the largest console beta ever for a new video game IP to date,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Hosting a beta at this scale is an incredible feat, so we’re thrilled to see the phenomenal response. But the beta is just a taste of what’s to come. We’re counting down the days to our launch day, September 9th.”
“We were totally blown away by the number of people who played the beta,” said Pete Parsons, COO of Bungie. “We surpassed even our own goals and the feedback was invaluable. We cannot thank the community enough, the response was humbling and in the weeks ahead we’ll be working hard to ensure that Destiny lives up to the expectations at launch.”
I got the pleasure of trying the beta myself on the Xbox One and I was blown away by the game. It was much more than I was expecting and will hopefully be a day one purchase for myself.
After initially requiring a beta code for access, Bungie is opening up the Destiny beta to all gamers on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 3.
Starting today at 4 PM PDT, everyone will be free to play the ongoing beta. The only requirement will be an Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus subscription, depending upon your console of choice. To start playing, check out the dashboard or store on your system for a link to download the beta.
This will ensure everyone who wants to try Destiny has the opportunity to do so before the beta comes to an end on Sunday night. It should also make it easier for those with more than one console to decide which system they want to play the game on when it launches on September 9. But remember, the Xbox One beta doesn’t run at 1080p, but the final game is expected to.
Bungie has had a number of surprises for beta testers since the beta began last week. Before today’s announcement, it offered a limited time Iron Banner event over the weekend and then brought the beta back online early after scheduled maintenance. And, as previously announced, players who sign into the game anytime between 2 PM PDT on Saturday and the end of the beta will receive an exclusive emblem for use in the full game.
After being a pre-order bonus, some of those who have already purchased the game are feeling betrayed by Bungie for allowing the bonus to be used by everyone.
Remember the Beta ends this Sunday for those who want to take part.
The North East of England will be host to the first major VR conference in Europe on September 11 2014 at the Baltic Centre in Gateshead.
The conference will be looking at both entertainment, commerical and serious applications for Virtual Reality. In addition attendees will have the oppotunity to go hands on with both Sony’s Project Morpheus and the Oculus Rift.
The conference will look at where the future of VR is taking the entertainment and games industry and see what this cutting edge technology can do for serious applications for automotive, modelling, training, marketing etc.
There will be speakers from a number of different companies talking about the different features of VR and how it can be used to create new exciting experiences. Speakers from SCEE, CCP and Zerolight with plenty more that are yet to be announced.
An after-show party is planned which could be excellent for networking and discussing ideas with other like minded individuals.
So attend and witness the future of interactive entertainment first hand. You can sign up using the eventbrite link here.
Creative England and SCEE have announced a new £250,000 fund to accelerate and incubate five UK games companies.
The organisation’s will invest £50,000 into each of the selected five developers to support the development of new titles for PS3, PS4 and PlayStation Vita. The studios will also receive business support, dev kits for the three PlayStation platforms and other technical and fringe benefits.
The partnership is part of a new incubator and accelerator programme called GamesLab Campus. Information on how to apply will be made available soon at www.creativeengland.co.uk/games.
The partnership was announced by SCEE’s senior account manager for publisher and developer relations Agostino Simonetta during the Develop Conference in Brighton today.
“We are delighted to work with Creative England on this program,” he said. “We believe this to be a great partnership and an opportunity to illustrate our continuous support and commitment to the independent development community.”
Jaspal Sohal, head of games and digital media at Creative England, added: “At Creative England, we are always looking to support new game development talent and opening doors to help ndie studios grow and achieve commercial success. It’s fantastic to have PlayStation on board and together we’ve designed GamesLab Campus to be a complete investment and support package.
“Whether you’re a start-up or an experienced developer, we’re looking for exciting and innovative projects to invest in.”
Unity for PlayStation 4 has been fully released for all registered Sony developers.
The new version brings full support to Shader Model 5 and compute shaders, as well as for all DualShock 4 features including the touchpad, vibration, light colour and speaker control.
Developers will also be able to access camera features such as depth detection, hand and face positioning and PS Move detection.
Sony will be making a number of licences available free of charge for approved titles.
Unity also said it was working on full support for integration with Sony’s virtual reality headset Project Morpheus.
The unthinkable has happened. Ubisoft has changed Assassin’s Creed’s long-extant parkour systems for Assassin’s Creed: Unity, reconfiguring the control scheme while introducing a selection of unlockable abilities.
That’s according to game designer Max Spielberg – son of Steven Spielberg – who has outlined the revisions in a blog post for the official site.
“In previous games, you were either running on your feet from object to object, or you were climbing,” he began. “What we did is basically create a transition between the climb system and the navigation system.
“So now, you no longer have to drop down from climbing a wall to an object to continue running. You can, from your climb, perform a transition into a direct run, or swing, or any move possible in the game.”
There are also new modifiers when you’re navigating the city. “There’s the standard Right Trigger control method, where we tried to emulate previous AC games as best we could,” Spielberg observed. “So if you’ve played any previous AC game, you should feel at home with the Right Trigger.
“The A button [Parkour Up] will start trending you upwards. If you are on a façade or have a wall next to you, and there are props along the wall, holding A will use the façade itself – the actual wall – to scramble up to the next object that’s nearest to your current position.
“On the other hand, the B button [Parkour Down] will start dropping you down objects until you reach the ground. This all happens very quickly. In fact, at one point we were toying with the idea of not even needing the leap of faith, because the player can get down facades so quickly with the B (down) option.”
Ubisoft has avoided the “flashier” free-running moves, preferring to focus on ease and efficiency of movement. “Parkour is the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B using the environment, whereas free running is the same concept, except using flashier moves to complete that sequence, like doing tricks with your body.
“We have elements of free running in AC Unity, but we focused more on the parkour aspect of keeping the flow, and keeping some sense of realism. That being said, all these moves are possible since our mocap actors did all of them for us at some point.”
Perhaps most interestingly of all, you’ll now be able to unlock new skills as you progress through the game. “There is a skillset that you learn as you progress through the game. Arno starts out with basic moves and learns more parkour moves along the way. But there are also a few skills that you can purchase, that add some flair to the moves.”
“One of my favourite new moves, and one of the coolest ones I think you’ll see in the game is called the Base Jump,” Spielberg concluded. “The player jumps out, arms outstretched, almost looks like he’s going into a Leap of Faith and then catches a pole right at the last second to swing off. That’s very impressive.”
The game isn’t coming to Xbox 360, but Ubisoft has hinted that another unannounced Assassin’s Creed game will.
You can view a single player demo of the game below which demonstrates the new movement style.
At its annual E3 Media & Business Summit press conference today, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) unveiled a line-up of premiere content for the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system.
The games included Destiny from Bungie & Activision , Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End from Naughty Dog , Far Cry 4 from Ubisoft , Batman: Arkham Knight from Rocksteady & Warner Bros Interactive , The Order: 1886 from Ready at Dawn, the highly anticipated No Man’s Sky by Hello Games, and many more.
SCEA also unveiled an exclusive PS4 Destiny bundle that includes a custom glacier white PS4, provided an update on its original content series “Powers,” introduced PlayStation TV (PS TV) for the North American and European markets, and discussed the rollout of “PlayStation Now” (PS Now) in the United States and Canada.
“With the success of PS4 − the number one next generation platform globally − and the announcements we made tonight around exciting new content, platforms and services, PlayStation is delivering unique and powerful entertainment experiences that speak to the hearts and minds of gamers,” said Shawn Layden, president and CEO of SCEA.
“PlayStation offers something for everyone, whether you want to lose yourself in a massive virtual world with tons of social interaction like Destiny or you’re looking for a more intimate, unique experience offering plenty of challenge like Entwined. Our unwavering commitment to gamers will ensure that PlayStation will always be where the greatest play happens.”
You can view more information on the Sony E3 conference in the link below
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced Mortal Kombat X, NetherRealm Studios’ next highly anticipated installment in its legendary, critically acclaimed fighting game franchise that propels the iconic franchise into a new generation.
Mortal Kombat X is scheduled for release in 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC. Mortal Kombat X will make its first public appearance at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2014 in Los Angeles.
“Mortal Kombat is our acclaimed, world-renowned franchise and we are now advancing the fighting genre with Mortal Kombat X,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “NetherRealm Studios is best in class at delivering games fans love and they are taking their iconic brand to the next level with Mortal Kombat X.”
“Mortal Kombat has always been about over-the-top, visceral fighting and with Mortal Kombat X we wanted to utilise the power of new-gen consoles to give players our most intense game yet,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “The team has worked hard to make sure Mortal Kombat X delivers everything fans expect along with new characters, new game modes and an all new graphics engine.”
Mortal Kombat X combines cinematic presentation with all new gameplay to deliver the most brutal Kombat experience ever, offering a new fully-connected experience that launches players into a persistent online contest where every fight matters in a global battle for supremacy.
For the first time, Mortal Kombat X gives players the ability to choose from multiple variations of each character impacting both strategy and fighting style. Players step into an original story showcasing some of the game’s most prolific characters including Scorpion and Sub-Zero, while introducing new challengers that represent the forces of good and evil and tie the tale together.
Rise of the Tomb Raider won’t be available on either PS4 or PC, following Microsoft’s deal to sign the game exclusively for Xbox One.
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